I Will Give You Strength
by ReddTwilight
Summary: Sequel to "Lean On Me"
1. Move In

**A/N: I present the sequel to "Lean On Me". Double theme song for this fan fiction. "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol and "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne. **

**I do not own Twilight.**

**EPOV**

I grabbed the first box out of the trunk of my car and set it down on the asphalt of the parking lot. As I bowed to grab one of the lighter ones I stood back up to admire the figure standing with her back to me staring up at the apartment building in front of us. The wind blew gently, moving a few of the dark tendrils not pulled back into a ponytail. Bella turned and tucked some loosened hair behind her ear and smiled at shyly at me.

"I can't believe we're here." She admitted as she walked over. She wrapped her thin arms around my waist and pressed her head against my chest.

"Are you happy?" I asked.

Bella nodded without looking up and gave me a squeeze around my middle.

"Me, too." I dipped my head to kiss her, elated when she kissed me back.

"We should start brining stuff inside, it's going to take a while."

"If you insist." I sighed, letting her go.

Bella picked up the smaller box and walked ahead of me toward the building. I felt myself frown as I watched her. I knew she had been losing weight lately. Her appetite had decreased ever since…

I just hadn't realized the amount of weight she had actually lost in the last month. And I slept beside her every night.

"Are you coming or are you going to just stare?" Bella teased, turning to grin at me.

"And pass up the opportunity to enjoy the view? Never."

We decided to bring all of Bella's stuff in first and then head over to my building. Bella was not keen on unpacking and wanted to put it off for as long as possible. So if we could at least get it inside that was a start for later.

Forty minutes later we started unloading my boxes from the car and joined the small crowd that had arrived in the interim heading over to the apartment buildings. I was only a five-minute walk away from Bella's building, which was a huge relief for me. I knew within a week we would either be living primarily in her apartment, or mine. I just hoped we both wound up with roommates that didn't mind so much.

I wasn't surprised when we arrived on the second floor and found the door to the apartment I was sharing with three other guys propped open with one of the kitchen chairs.

"Who's there?" It was a male voice that asked, and I glanced down the hallway to see which bedroom door was open. "Hi, I'm Ben."

Ben was shorter than me, I noticed, as he walked down the hall with his hand out. He had short brown hair and a nice personality. I liked him instantly and knew he would be a good roommate.

"Edward," I answered back, shaking his hand the best I could. "This is my wife, Bella."

We had decided to be honest from the start with our roommates, even though we had yet to tell our closest friends. I could care less if perfect strangers knew. It was harder to tell the truth to Jasper, Emmett, and Alice. And we decided together to tell them all at Thanksgiving.

I had wanted to tell Jasper before moving to campus, mostly because he was also here at UW with us, although I had no idea where on campus he was living, and I was expecting to run in to him, or hear from him at some point when he would no doubt notice the ring on my finger.

"Wife, wow." Ben, unsurprisingly, looked shocked. "I wasn't expecting that. It's nice to meet you, Bella."

"You, too." She smiled shyly, adjusting the box in her hands so she could shake his.

"Well, I have a lot of shit to unpack, I'm sure you do, too. Are you going here, too, Bella?"

"Yes, I live two buildings down."

"But you didn't unpack yet?"

Bella shook her head. "Not my most favorite thing in the world."

"I don't think it's anyone's."

Ben continued to make chit chat from down the hall as Bella and I began unpacking my things. I left her in the apartment to handle unloading the boxes while I brought everything else in. I could tell Ben was a decent enough guy and wouldn't make a move on her. My last trip up I heard her laughing out loud from down the hallway and the sound brought a smile to my face. It had been a couple weeks since I last heard that laugh.

"What's so funny?" I shouted in question as I walked into the apartment.

"Bella was trying to hang up a poster and slipped on the bed and bounced. It caught her by surprise. You missed the scream," Ben explained from my doorway. "I heard it and came running down the hallway."

"You ok?" I asked as I watched Bella try to stand on the bed again to hang one of my band posters.

"I'm fine. My butt took the brunt of it."

Bella finished straightening the poster and got down off the bed. Although, I don't know if you can call a metal frame and a hard mattress a bed. Ben returned to his room to finish unpacking, continuing to chat via shouting from down the hall. I brought in the rest of my boxes and totes as Bella sorted it all out and put it away the best she could. I liked to think she knew me well enough to know how I liked things organized and kept.

I finished bringing in my last load and got to work helping Bella unpack. Ben shouted jokes down the hall keeping the three of us laughing. I was putting away some kitchen necessities when the apartment door opened and the third roommate walked in.

"Hi, I'm Garrett, this is my girlfriend, Kate." His hands were full with a large cardboard box, but he nodded behind him to an attractive blonde who was carrying a laundry hamper piled high with her boyfriend's belongings.

"I'm Edward." I volunteered as Garrett set his box down in the main hallway. He offered me his hand and I shook it. I liked Garrett right away, too. I indicated Bella as she walked out of my room. "This is my wife, Bella."

"Married, wow. That's cool."

"That's what I said." Ben called from his room. "Hey, what took you so long to get here?" He asked Garrett. Apparently they knew each other.

"Traffic," Garrett shrugged.

"Bullshit, I know what were you doing."

I smirked and pretended not to notice Kate blush.

"Do you guys live in the same area?" I asked.

"We went to high school together and had a couple classes together last year. So we decided to live together this year. I'm a criminal justice major." Garrett volunteered.

"Oh, and I'm a history major." Ben added quickly, realizing he hadn't mentioned it earlier.

"Me too," Bella smiled brightly. "And literature."

"Oohh, double major. Little miss smarty pants." Ben teased. Bella blushed and I felt her hand slip into mine.

"What are you studying?" Garrett asked me as he picked his box back up.

"History and education. I want to teach high school."

"Which I think is an incredibly stupid thing to do." Bella commented at my side. "You know you won't have any patience for it."

"We'll see."

"So who's our fourth roommate?" Ben asked.

I shrugged. Having registered late all I got was my room assignment.

"I think the email that we all got said his name was James." Garrett shrugged as well as he walked down the hall to his room all the way at the end. Kate followed, swiping his card for him.

"So are you both done already?" Garrett asked. I could hear him set the box down on the floor.

"I am," Ben announced. "For now at least. I want food."

"We're not, we still have Bella's stuff in her apartment to unpack."

"We should finish here first." Bella nudged me. Ugh, I didn't want to. But she was right. We should at least get it all unpacked if not put away for now.

It took us another hour before I had my room arranged the way I wanted it. I didn't bother with my clothes for now. But we got all the boxes and totes unpacked and put away.

Ben went out to meet with another friend before coming back so we could all head out for lunch together. However, Bella was ready to go back to her apartment and begin putting her things away.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, storing the last empty tote under my bed.

Bella shrugged. "Not really. I'd rather get stuff put away, then we can go out, just you and me."

"I'd like that," I pushed some hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her.

"Hello, anyone here?" A voice asked from the doorway, knocking lightly.

"Jazz? "I asked, sticking my head out of my room. Bella followed and rushed over throwing herself into his arms. "No way you live in the same building?" I asked, incredulous, but no less excited.

"Yeah, I live two apartments down. I though I heard you earlier. When did you guys get here?"

"Around eight. You?"

"About nine, want to grab something to eat? I need a break."

"Uh…yeah, lets go." Bella nudged me again. I watched her eyes flick down to her ring and back up to my eyes. She wanted to tell Jasper.

Well, I suppose there was no better time than the present.

Once we were outside I stopped five feet from the door to the building, as stated in campus policy, and pulled out my fresh pack of cigarettes.

"I thought you quit that shit." Jasper accused me as I lit up.

Honestly, at the moment, I was freaking out about how he would take the news of me and Bella and marital status. But that wasn't the reason I started smoking again.

I took a pull and handed the cigarette to Bella, "You, too?" Jasper asked incredulous.

"Only because he's doing it." Bella tipped her head at me, blowing smoke away.

"That's a piss poor excuse." Jasper muttered.

"I have no control."

"That's another poor excuse."

"I'm stressed." I stated in my own defense.

"About what? We're at college. A new chapter. It's time to be free!" Jasper shouted elatedly. He was obviously overjoyed to be here. "What could you possibly be stressed about?"

"Her," I nodded at Bella, passing her the cigarette.

Jasper looked between us for a moment. "I don't get it."

Bella took a long drag, holding the smoke in, closing her eyes. She was trying to relax herself, as she worded what she had to say, in her mind. She handed me back the last of the cigarette and cupped her forehead in her hand, rubbing her temples.

"You're starting to scare me a little, Bells. Is this something serious?" I watched Jasper's eyes flick to her middle and I swear I heard what he was thinking. "You guys don't have a little surprise on the way, do you?" He tried to laugh the question off, but failed.

"No, I'm not knocked up, Jasper." Bella had an edge to her voice, since she was expecting everyone to have that reaction to our marriage, and naturally she felt defensive about it. She let out a breath, glancing at me. I nodded, telling her it was all right, and I reached between us to take her hand. "I tried to kill myself in May." Bella finally whispered.

She let go of my hand and sat down on one of the benches. I followed and sat beside her keeping my hand in her lap. Jasper perched himself on the arm of the bench, obviously shocked by her statement.

"Your father?" He asked, knowing immediately why Bella would have made the choices she did.

She looked up at him with surprise. "How do you know?"

"Edward talked about it," Jasper explained, "When the two of you weren't communicating. I hope everything is all right now. Between you and your dad."

Bella nodded. "Yes. We've talked about everything. It's not perfect, but…we're ok."

"I assume everything is good between you two." He waved between Bella and I.

"Great," I smiled immediately, trying to break some of the unease in the air around us. "So great in fact…" I grabbed Bella's left hand putting it on display.

Jasper looked down, his eyes landing on her ring finger. "There's two rings." He noted.

"Very astute of you." Bella laughed sarcastically.

I held my left hand up.

"When?"

"A few weeks ago." Bella answered, playing with her engagement ring.

"Do Emmett and Alice know?"

"Not yet," Bella and I answered together. " We were planning on telling you, Em, and Alice at Thanksgiving. But…"

"Since I'm here now." Jasper finished for me. I was glad he didn't seem upset, but I still wasn't sure what he thought about this. "Why?" He asked next.

"Because we wanted to." Bella answered. "He asked me and I couldn't say no."

"I just want to be with her. In every sense possible." I looked at Bella as I said it, offering her a small smile as I raised her hand to my lips.

"I'm guessing security played a part as well." Jasper mused. He eased down from his perch and took the empty space on Bella's free side.

"A part," she admitted.

"A big part," I elaborated. "On your side."

"Yeah, I need you." She whispered, laying her head on my shoulder.

"I need you, too, love." I dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

"You two are worse than me and Alice." Jasper laughed.

"Like you're not a big romantic inside." Bella teased. "Remember how you ran to her at graduation. You two must have stood there staring at each other for five minutes before you finally locked lips."

"I just couldn't believe she was actually there." Jasper sighed as he reminisced.

"So do you two still want to eat?" I asked.

"Yes, please." Jasper hopped up and rubbed his hands together.

"I could use some sustenance."

I got up and offered Bella my hands to pull her off the bench.

We all got caught up on the last few weeks over lunch. Jasper and Alice had gone away to Vancouver for a couple of days together. Bella and I talked about the cabin we had stayed in for a week, although we didn't go into detail about what we did there.

When we got back to campus Bella and I headed over to her apartment to start unpacking.

"Do you think Jasper will tell Alice?" Bella asked me as she spread out a fresh sheet on her bed.

"No, he has enough respect for privacy. We told him the truth about everything. He will let us tell Alice when we decide to. Although that may come back to bite him in the ass." I arranged a few things on her desk as I spoke, and then rearranged them.

"I don't care where you put stuff. I'll wind up moving it anyway." She spread out a comforter and fixed it so it lay straight. "Edward, seriously." She turned and laughed at me as I adjusted her tape dispenser but an inch.

"Sorry, OCD."

"Obviously,"

Bella turned and looked around. She made her next target her clothes and began unpacking a suitcase. I liked my dresser arranged just so, so I knew that everything had a place. Bella was a little less organized.

I unpacked another box as she started arranging her clothes drawer by drawer. "Baby, you should probably leave the bottom drawer for sweatshirts, it's deeper."

"I will put my clothes away the way I like." She smirked at me, but I noticed she took my advice and closed the last drawer with ease.

"So, how about dinner?" She asked me as she sat down on the bed.

"Sure. Off campus again, or should we break in our meal plans?" I reclined back against her pillows, crossing my ankles. For some reason her bed was more comfortable than mine. I think I knew where I was going to prefer sleeping this year.

"Lets go see what passes for food in the dining hall." Bella decided.

I made sure to grab her ID card off her desk before Bella forgot it as we walked out of her room. Didn't need her getting locked out on our first night.

"Hey, are you guys going for dinner?" Angela, one of Bella's roommates asked as she met us in the hallway.

"Yeah, dining hall."

"Oh no. My older brother just graduated in May. He told me on my first night I had to make sure I got chicken parmesan pizza. Lets go."

Bella gave me a look. I knew she was going to be fast friends with Angela. She was very open socially, obviously, and not afraid to throw herself into new friendships.

And so we spent a couple hours in the student center getting to know Angela Weber and learn about some of the places on campus we would all have to go to together either to eat or hang out. She knew plenty thanks to her brother.

"So where are the other two girls?" I asked as we all walked back to apartments together.

"Tanya and Robyn? They're coming tomorrow. They had some kind of family reunion thing this past weekend."

"How are they related?" Bella asked.

"Cousins. We talked a lot on Facebook all summer getting to know each other. They're both juniors."

"How did you get into the apartments as a freshman?"

"How did you?" Angela asked back, not sounding rude, but interested.

" We transferred here last month at the last minute. This is what was open." Bella explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I was originally placed in the dorms, but then I got an email from Student Housing that there was a screw up and I got moved here."

"Your gain." I said, because it was. I already knew Bella and I would be living in these apartments for the next four years.

"Is it ok if Edward sleeps over some times?" Bella asked when we had arrived back at the apartment.

"I don't care. But I don't want to hear any knocking on the wall at night." Angela teased us.

Bella blushed and I rolled my eyes.


	2. First Day of Class

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed chapter 1. Here's chapter 2! Again, and I know you all are probably tired of hearing me say this….sorry for the wait. But the Christmas season is over, and this past one was really a doozy for me. My last semester of college has started, even though the campus has been closed due to vast amounts of snow in my area, so I am hoping with my routine back in place I will be writing more often.**

**I do not own Twilight**

**BPOV**

I always loved waking up to the feel of Edward's arm around me, holding me tight. I liked the reminder that he was there and everything was all right. For the moment at least. I turned the best that I could in the limited space that we had in the campus bed and was met with his sleepy, smiling face.

"Good morning, wife." He greeted me, reaching out to stroke my cheek.

"Good morning, love." I greeted him back and leaned in to kiss his soft lips.

"How did you sleep?"

"Ok," I admitted honestly. I knew I had tossed and turned a bit. Edward never cuddled closer than when I was tormented in my sleep and in need of comfort.

He nodded understandingly and started to sit up, dragging me with him. I groaned in protest and tried to lay back down, but Edward prevented me from achieving that goal by getting out of the bed and making me sit up with my feet on the freezing, linoleum floor.

"God, that's the worst." I moaned as I stood up.

"I'll go get the coffee started." He offered, and made sure to throw on a t-shirt and lounge pants before walking out of my bedroom. Edward had tendency to sleep in just his shorts most nights unless we were intent on divesting each other of our clothes, then he slept naked.

I preferred that. But after Angela had made us promise not to be too loud at night should Edward sleep over, I don't think she would want a surprise like that so early in the morning.

I heard cabinets open and close as Edward tried to locate the coffee we had purchased yesterday at the grocery store. He cursed a few times and started banging drawers shut. I wanted to hiss at him to be quiet should Angela still be sleeping. But that was when I heard the shower running down the hall and knew that she was already awake and unaware of Edward's 'give me caffeine now' tantrum.

I shut the door enough to give me privacy to change, but left it cracked so Edward wouldn't be locked out. I threw on the first few things my hands touched and checked my clothes in the mirror.

Nope. Not good enough for the first day.

I took everything off and started again. As I was pulling my jeans on I heard the apartment door open, knowing it could only be our other two roommates, or perhaps just one.

I heard a startled yelp in the kitchen and knew whomever it was, was most likely shocked to find a strange guy in the kitchen of an all girls' apartment.

"Sorry, I promise I'm not a criminal or anything." Edward stated, making me laugh.

"No problem, I just wasn't expecting anyone, let alone a guy, to be up right now."

"8:30 class. We don't really have a choice."

"We?" the feminine voice asked.

"Hi, I'm Bella." I said as I walked out of my room, clad now in jeans and a white t-shirt, and introduced myself to one of my other roommates.

"Oh, you two are together. I get it. Ok. Hi, I'm Robyn." She took my hand and shook it once.

The bathroom door opened down the hall and Angela walked out wrapped in her towel and drying her hair, and waved to us in the kitchen. "I'm Angela." She called.

"Robyn," our roommate called back. Angela nodded and headed into her room shutting the door so she could get dressed.

"Where's…Tanya?" I asked, not sure if I had the right name or not.

"She'll be here this afternoon. Some time. Queen of Procrastination that one." Robyn rolled her eyes and headed down the hall to her room to start unpacking. If I remembered correctly the two were cousins. This would be an interesting semester.

"She seems nice." Edward commented when Robyn was out of earshot.

"I can't wait to meet the other one. Thanks," I accepted the coffee he handed me and let him kiss me.

"Don't be cynical."

"But I'm so good at it."

"I know," Edward laughed. We retreated back into my room so we could finish getting ready. I had asked if we could do breakfast on campus if there was time this morning, just to see what the fare was like.

I sat at my desk putting on my makeup and jewelry and watched Edward's reflection in the mirror I was using. He stripped out of the t-shirt and pants, turning to face my dresser before removed his boxers.

"Nice ass," I commented as I put my stud earrings in.

"I like it, too." Edward responded without turning to look at me, but I knew he was smiling.

He grabbed a clean pair of boxer briefs from the top drawer and pulled them on. We had decided yesterday to keep a few changes of clothes in each other's rooms. The bag I had for his dresser sat in the corner. I would take it over whenever we headed to his apartment next.

I finished doing up my face and continued to watch my husband dress himself. Edward yanked on jeans and then did up a button down shirt over his t-shirt. He glanced at me where I had turned to watch him fully, leaning my head on my hand, completely entranced. He chuckled to himself and groaned as he sat down on the bed and put his shoes on.

"What? I can't enjoy the show?"

"Not when your blatant staring causes problems."

I just waggled my eyebrows at him. Edward ran his hands through his hair a couple times and finished his coffee. I pulled on the grey healed boots I had chosen for today and the little plaid jacket I picked out. Edward got our bags and IDs and we stopped to rinse out our cups before leaving.

Robyn was still unpacking, and Angela hadn't come out of her room yet. I left a goodbye note on the marker board on the fridge wishing her luck in her classes today.

"God I'm starving." Edward moaned as we headed towards the main campus buildings.

"Stop whining. We'll be there in a few minutes." I grabbed his hand, thrilling when he brought it up to his lips and kissed it before dropping our hands between us.

About a half hour later we sat at a small table for two, our bags at our feet as we ate quickly. Class started in fifteen minutes. Edward and I had both gone the quick route and got oatmeal. I liked a ton of toppings on mine, Edward had added only cinnamon.

"How's that boring breakfast of champions over there?" I teased as I blew off a spoonful of oatmeal before popping it in my mouth.

"Delicious, actually. Just the way I like it." Edward spoke around a mouthful making me laugh. I loved it when he was carefree and goofy.

"We should eat this on the run." He suggested a minute later after glancing at his phone. So we packed up and scooted off to our first class together. We must have looked comical as we rushed, shoveling spoonfuls of oatmeal into our mouths, keeping time as we walked together.

We arrived at our history class with a few minutes to spare. Edward tossed our trash out and we sighed together as we looked around. All of the good seats were taken.

"Guess we're on the edge." I said with a shrug, noticing two empty seats along the wall.

"Aren't we always?" Edward quipped back.

"Ha, ha, ha." I laughed sarcastically in response.

Edward steered us toward the two seats and we sat down next to each other. Only moments later our professor walked in carrying a stack of paper and a pile of books. Fun times.

"Good morning, everyone. I know it's early, so please feel free to bring your coffee, breakfast, or whatever with you. I don't mind, but don't make it a distraction. Do what you need to stay awake for me. I know history isn't always that interesting at 8:30 in the morning." He smiled and looked around at us.

Now that Edward and I had that information there would be no more rushing through our oatmeal. We grinned at each other.

"With that said, if anyone would like to take a minute or two right now to go grab another cup of coffee or something to snack on, please feel free while I pass out the papers. But only this one time, and only take a few minutes. In the future, bring everything you need with you. I don't like a lot of you getting up every couple minutes unless its for the bathroom."

"Fair enough," Edward decided. "Skim and Splenda right?" He asked me.

"Please, and I think I smelled hazelnut coffee at that place we passed."

"Coming up." He kissed the top of my head as he left.

While he, and half the class, was gone, I grabbed two copies of everything that was passed around, making a little pile for him on his desk. I started glancing through everything and was glad to see this professor allowed the use of laptops for note taking. I was always much faster when I type then when I wrote. And my handwriting was atrocious. Edward's was elegant.

"For you, Madame." He handed me my cup when he came back and I inhaled the heavenly aroma of sweetened hazelnut. I may also have moaned a little.

"Ok, so first lets go see of everyone is here. I will take roll call every class. If you show up after the fact you're absent. Three absences and you fail. But we'll get to that in a little bit."

Our professor started calling alphabetically. I wondered if I would be listed as Swan or Cullen on the sheet. We had transferred at the last minute, but Edward's father had simply asked for our information as it stood at Harvard to be transferred. Well, we would find out.

"Edward Cullen?"

"Here," Edward raised his hand up.

"Isabella…Cullen? Swan?"

"Here."

"Is it Cullen or Swan?"

"Cullen…and just Bella."

"Bella…" He made that note next to my name. "Just want to be sure, you're name was moved up and changed here." He looked between Edward and I. "Recently married?"

"Last month." We answered together.

"Congratulations," he smiled shyly at us, probably questioning why two people our age got married right before going away to college together.

"Thank you, sir." Edward responded. He took my hand and held it on his desk, effectively calming my nerves as I looked around at everyone who was staring at us, and at my abdomen.

"Excuse me if I'm being rude, but why did you get married?" The redheaded student next to Edward asked quietly.

"It's ok. Because we wanted to. We knew we were it for each other, and didn't see the point in waiting another five years."

"Things can change." She said.

"No, we knew this was it." Edward smiled at me. "We just wanted to make it official."

"Maggie Macleod?"

"Here." Edward's neighbor responded with a raised hand. "Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Maggie."

"Edward, and this is my wife, Bella."

"Can I see your ring?"

I moved my left hand over so she could see it. "Wow, that's beautiful. It's almost like an antique."

"It is an antique. It's was Edward's great-grandmother's, passed down each generation." I explained.

"It's so beautiful."

I blushed as she released my hand and thanked her.

"To business." Our professor announced after he had called the last name. "First, the syllabus." He held up the thickest pack of paper.

I glanced a smirk at Maggie. We both rolled our eyes. This was going to be a long day.

Later, after classes were over for the day, we headed back to my apartment first so I could grab my bag of clothes, and then we trekked over to Edward's. He finished unpacking his last two boxes while I put my clothes away and we sat down at the communal kitchen table to go over everything we had received from our different classes today.

We had the same class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We were both majoring in history, but while I was double majoring in literature as well, Edward was obtaining an education degree. We shared our one history class and the 2-credit dance class we had signed up for to meet an Arts requirement for the freshmen.

"I don't know how he expects us to get through each of these packets for every book." Edward grunted as he went through the mountain of papers we had received from our first class this morning.

"Each book has its own packet, and we do a little bit from each one every week. It's how they make sure we actually read."

"It's sneaky."

"I think it will help in retaining the information." I stacked my papers and tapped them so they lay even.

"Crap, I forgot the labels. Can you grab them from my desk?" Edward asked as he started sorting out various folders for our classes.

"Sure," I got up and went to grab the labels. I hadn't put his desk together, so it took me a minute to find them. I heard the apartment door open and close and Edward greeting someone. Must be the fourth roommate.

I walked out, labels in hand with a Sharpie marker, and took my seat next to Edward.

"This is Bella, my wife." Edward introduced me.

"Hi, I'm Peter." He offered me his hand and I shook it, giving him a small smile. "You two must get this a lot but…"

"No, I'm not pregnant." I finished before he could ask.

"Ok. Now that we've got that cleared." Peter teased. I appreciated the lighthearted humor, but the whole assuming we're-married-because-I'm-knocked-up business was getting annoying.

Edward chuckled and took my hand to calm my nerves. I squeezed back and felt the corners of my mouth turn up a little.

"Maybe we should go get something to eat." Edward offered.

"Yeah, I could use a food break." I breathed out, letting my frustration go with it.

"Want to come with us?" He offered to Peter.

"Thanks, but I have another class in an hour, I need to get back over to campus. I was just coming by to grab my other books. But maybe another night this week."

Edward nodded in agreement and I just rearranged papers on the table. Peter excused himself and I turned to my husband. "Don't say it." He put a finger to my lips before I could open my mouth.

I smiled. He knew me too well. "Just let it go."

"Is it really that hard to believe that two people our age would want to get married because we love each other? With no other ulterior motives."

"Yes, in today's society. Because a girl only gets married at eighteen because she her parents want a father for their grandchild."

"Don't generalize."

"It's true." Edward exclaimed. "It's the right thing for the father to do."

"You really are stuck in the nineteenth century, aren't you?"

"I can stop being a gentleman if you want me to."

"No, I like having you open doors and pulling chairs out for me."

Edward leaned in and kissed me softly. "I thought so. Come on, food time." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my seat. "We'll finish this shit when we get back."

I glanced at the pile of papers we had and Edward's stack of folders to be shared between us. I loved that he was so organized. It was going to make getting through the work a lot easier.

And maybe even score extra time together when we really needed it.

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review if you're not too frustrated with me and my lack of postings ;) **


	3. Birthday Fun

**A/N: Bella won't be so agitated this chapter, I promise. And I'm sorry for the stall. I am now in full thesis mode since this is my last semester of college. 91 days until graduation!**

**I do not own Twilight**

**EPOV**

That awkward moment when you're standing in front of the contraception options in the campus store with a camera over your head, and your best friend giggling – yes giggling - on his cell phone with his girlfriend who also happens to be your cousin.

Yeah, that's where I'm at.

I looked over my shoulder to see where Jasper had gone. He was standing in front of the soda cases, the door perched open against his shoulder with his phone between his ear and said shoulder, laughing loudly. I watched him check out several different types of soda then shut the door and move to the next cooler.

With his attention safely diverted I went back to the selections in front of me. This was the one aisle with a camera over it precisely for the contents within. I had read in the campus paper that condoms were one of the most shoplifted items in the campus store, and this year a camera was being installed.

That only made me a little more embarrassed. Not a lot, just a little.

"How hard is it?"

"What?" I asked, my voice going up an octave as I turned. Jasper stood behind me.

"How hard is it to pick a pack?"

"Oh,"

"Well?"

"Just give me a minute?"

"Planning a special weekend?"

"Maybe,"

I reached out and plucked a case from the shelf, and then put it back. I grabbed a different one, looked it over for a minute and put it back too.

"Must be some weekend."

"It's Bella's birthday."

"Very special weekend."

"Weren't you in the middle of a call?" I asked, starting to get frustrated. I wanted some privacy for a minute. I couldn't make a choice with an audience.

"Alice had to go to class."

"Can I have a minute, please? Contrary to belief, some guys don't like to show off."

"Ok, cool." Japer raised his hands in defeat and walked off back to the sodas.

Just as he was out of sight I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. It only made matters worse that the text was from Bella.

_Will you be back soon?_

_Just picking up some stuff at the store. Are you packed?_

_Just started._

_Pack something sexy ;)_

I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and went back to choosing.

Five minutes later we were walking out the door with two plastic bags, heading back to our apartment building. Jasper had gotten a couple sodas and a bag of chips. His standard marathon study food.

"So where are you taking her?"

"A hotel."

"All weekend?"

"Yup."

"Which one?"

"Do I have to tell you?"

"No,"

"Good,"

"You're being awfully cryptic…and curt."

I stopped outside our building to swipe my student ID so we could get in. I preferred to always take the stairs, but Jasper got lazy on Fridays. And so we took the elevator to the second floor.

"Sorry, I just don't want to spoil her surprise."

"You think I would tell her?"

"No, but I don't want anything to slip out should we be talking about it with her in earshot." I swiped my card for my apartment and Jasper followed me in.

We sat at the kitchen table bullshitting and discussing how the first week and a half of the semester had been for us. I was waiting for Bella to text me and tell me she was ready. We had our Friday afternoon class at five, and we planned on getting dinner on campus afterwards before leaving for the weekend.

I got a text around 4:30 from Bella saying she was done packing and getting ready for class. I said goodbye to Jasper as we passed his apartment and he went inside. He told me to wish Bella a happy birthday, and I promised I would.

I arrived at her apartment building five minutes later and texted her to come down and meet me when she was ready. Bella appeared on the other side of the door a few minutes later, her tote bag over her shoulder.

"Pack something sexy?" She asked me, her eyebrow quirked.

"You'll find out later." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as we headed off to campus for the 5pm History of Science class we were taking together. Being freshman meant we were stuck with the dregs of classes. But we had gotten into the last two seats for this particular class, which was one I was genuinely interested in. Bella, too.

But today, I had a hard time paying attention. All I could honestly think about was taking Bella away for the weekend so we could spend some much needed quality time together.

After class we grabbed dinner in the HUB. Bella picked the last corner booth so we could be away from the main noise in the middle of the dinning area. I was glad to see that she had chosen a burger tonight instead of salad. Her appetite was starting to come back more and more with each week. I had gotten my favorite, chicken cheese steak. We ate our food while it was hot, trading a few comments about our history of science lecture.

"I'm glad we got in to this one. We can knock out one of the general studies requirements." She munched a fry as she talked.

"Yeah, but we're still at the bottom of the totem pole next semester, so we'll be lucky to get in to good history classes."

"I'm going to try and focus on some of my literature classes if I can, knock out the boring ones."

"What do you think of the dance class so far?"

Bella smiled. "I like it. I think its fun. I'm glad we decided to sign up for that one together, too."

"Maybe we can practice a little this weekend?" I offered, thinking of the amount of alone time we would have together in our room.

"Perhaps, if we're not busy doing other things." Bella gave me a mischievous smirk. Now I really just wanted to get back to the apartment, get everything together, and leave.

Half an hour later we were on our way to the hotel to check in. Bella sat next to me in my Volvo, her hands folded in her lap, but I could tell she was excited. She kept glancing over at me every few seconds, then returned to looking out the window at the passing buildings as we headed through central Seattle.

After checking in we went up to our room. It wasn't too late in the evening yet, and we could still order some room service if we got hungry. But I was thinking of something else we could do first.

"What do you think?" I asked as I walked in behind Bella. She stopped a few steps into the room and looked around. I had booked a half suite for the weekend. Besides a separate bed area and bathroom, there was a small sitting room with the TV and a couch.

"It's really nice, Edward."

"How about a bath?" I asked from behind her, lifting some of her hair off her shoulder. It had grown a little longer since she had it cut back in August.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Bella whispered, turning to face me.

I leaned in wrapping one arm around her waist pulling her against me as I pressed my lips to her neck. I started unbuttoning her shirt with my other hand.

"I do remember how to undress myself, you know."

"I know, but I do it so much better."

"Yes you do."

I pressed one last kiss to her neck then went into the bathroom to start the water. Bella followed me after a few minutes, dressed now in her thin robe. She leaned against the door and watched me as I started to strip out of my clothes.

"Want some help?" she offered.

"Go for it." I turned to her and she sauntered over. Before she even started taking my clothes off, she dropped her robe revealing her naked body underneath. I sucked in a breath, not expecting her to be so bold right away. I have a bad habit of underestimating my wife.

Bella shook her hair back over her shoulder and started to remove my clothes. "So what did you have in mind after the bath?"

"Whatever you want. This is your birthday weekend."

Bella yanked my belt off and dropped it to the bathroom floor. "How did I know you would say that?" She asked as she yanked my jeans down and leaned up on her toes to kiss me.

I just smiled and returned her kiss. We climbed into the tub together after the rest of my clothes had been shed and leaned back as the warm water continued pour in. I rubbed her arms for a minute and pressed my lips into her hair, just enjoying the peace of the moment.

Bella leaned forward in the tub and shut the water off when the tub was full enough, then leaned back against me. I let my arms fall easily over her shoulders and reach down under the water to rub her legs.

"Feel better?" I asked.

"A little. I'm still tired."

"We don't have to do anything tonight, Bella. We don't have to do anything all weekend if you don't want to. This is for you and all I want is to spend some time with you. No matter what we do, or don't do."

"But _you_ want to." Bella muttered, her hand drifting up and down my thigh slowly.

"Well…yeah. I'm a guy…I like it. And we haven't actually had sex since…the week we spent at my dad's cabin."

"I'm sorry," Bella whispered, and I felt her shoulders move as she breathed in and out deeply.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm not even mad that we haven't had sex in almost two weeks. I'm worried about you, and that's why I wanted us to get away for a couple days. Just to spend some time together and maybe…make up for lost time."

"Edward, if you want to have sex, just tell me."

"Bella…if you have your reasons for not wanting to, it's ok. I won't push you."

Bella sighed and turned around in the tub so she was facing me. She lifted herself up and settled back down in my lap, lopping her arms loosely around my neck. "Edward, you just have to ask me."

I didn't actually say anything. I shifted underneath her, making Bella raise her hips enough so I could position myself.

"What about protection?" I asked.

"It's ok, Edward."

I held onto Bella's waist as I brought her down, slipping inside her all at once. Her head fell back and she let out a quiet whimper as I filled her completely. Our movements were slow, so we wouldn't slosh water out of the tub. I wasn't in any rush. But as we started to develop a rhythm, Bella had other ideas. She grabbed onto my hips and started to grind against me, causing the water to lap over us in waves.

"Maybe we should move this to the bed?" I suggested.

"Good idea."

I hated parting from her. But I would hate it more if we got water everywhere and consequently have no towels for the morning. We got out and dried off quickly before I scooped Bella up and carried her to the bedroom. I set her down on her feet by the bed, and she promptly pushed me down so I was lying on my back lengthwise on the bed.

I let Bella take the lead as she climbed up on the bed. She crawled over me and pinned my hands above my head. I was more than happy to relinquish control to her and let her do whatever she wanted.

I shut my eyes and left my hands over my head when Bella let go of them. We kissed passionately for several minutes before her lips began a downward exploration of my body. We had done this several times before and she usually ended up in the same place every time. Her hands roamed first and her lips followed. I kept my eyes shut and focused on the feel of her as she descended down my neck and chest, and then my abdomen. I felt kiss across my hips and run her hands up and down my l thighs. She moved lower and pressed her lips to the inside of my thigh and then switched to the other side.

I still kept my eyes closed. I felt her move her lips back up and nip at my hipbone this time, her hand cupping my length and making me harden even more. I let out a gasp of air as her fingers played over my erection and stroked fervently for a minute before her lips moved lower, engulfing just the head.

I grabbed the pillows behind me and focused on relaxing the muscles in my abdomen. I didn't try and reach down to control Bella's movements, she was doing fine all on her own. It was exquisite torture to lay there and just feel and not watch her mouth work me over. I was tempted to open my eyes just to see her between my legs for a moment. But denying myself sight made the touch of her mouth on my skin that much more explosive.

Her hands were everywhere they could be as her lips moved up, over, and back down my length. I gasped and moaned and raised my hips in a slow rhythm so I wouldn't make her gag. Bella grabbed my waist and forced me to be still underneath her ministrations.

Just when I was on the brink, she pulled back and moved up my body. I flipped us over so Bella now lie on back and I pinned her hands over her head the same way she had done to me. Without being asked she wrapped her legs around my hips and I slid into her all at once.

We moved faster this time than we had in the bathtub. I was rougher with her. Our mouths stayed joined, kissing deeply, as we matched each other thrust for thrust. I couldn't remember the last time we had let go like this. Certainly not during the week we stayed at the cabin. Everything had been about the moment and taking it slow, memorizing each other.

We hadn't been this uninhibited in months.

I cried out when I came, letting the electric heat sear through me from the base of my spine all the way to my fingertips and toes. Bella shuddered beneath me, her muscles clenching exquisitely around me. She held me tight as the last of her orgasm ebbed away, and I fell to the bed beside her, panting.

The last thing I remember before my eyes closed was Bella curling up on her side next to me, using my shoulder as a pillow, her arm draped possessively across my body.

I woke up before Bella, lying on my back still. She had moved away in her sleep, still curled up on her side facing me. Her arms were folded around a pillow, and she had a soft, dreamy expression on her face. I glanced at my phone to check the time. Almost nine. Breakfast would be here soon. I relaxed back down next to her, on my side this time, and reached out to stroke her hair. Bella sighed and opened her eyes slowly.

"Good morning," She smiled.

"Happy birthday." I whispered, and leaned in pressing my lips against hers.

Bella grazed her fingers across my cheeks and jawbone before letting her hands wrap around my neck and hold me to her. She threw her leg around my hip, but I had to push her off.

"Breakfast will be here soon." I told her, hating myself for it.

"We could have fun with the pancake syrup." She suggested playfully.

I wriggled my nose in disgust. "I'm not entirely sold on being covered in syrup."

"I didn't mean that." Bella laughed.

"What exactly did you mean?"

"We can draw fun shapes on our food with it."

"Now that idea I can run with." I leaned in to kiss her again, interrupted this time by a knock on the door and a male voice announcing room service.

I got up, groaning in aggravation, and pulled on my sleep pants before answering the door. I accepted the tray and tipped the guy before shutting the door and heading back to Bella. She had thrown on my button down from the night before while I was gone and probably a pair of panties as well. I couldn't tell since she had the sheet across her lap.

"Breakfast is served." I announced as I set the tray down on the bed between us.

"Mmmm…cheesecake." Bella clapped her hands. I had requested a slice of cheesecake with a candle along with the breakfast I had ordered last night when we checked in.

I lit the candle with my lighter and watched as Bella closed her eyes for a moment, making her wish, and then blew the candle out.

We spent the next hour finishing breakfast, and the cake, before we showered and headed out in Seattle for the day. I let Bella pick everywhere that we went. We visited the Sound and had lunch at a nice restaurant by the water. Afterward she wanted to go to the top of the Space Needle, one of her favorite places in the city. I took her picture standing by the window. It turned out as a beautiful side profile of her gazing out over Puget Sound at the mountain ranges, looking completely at peace with the world.

My only pick for the day was the restaurant I had chosen for dinner. I had made the reservation at the beginning of the month after a long conversation with my dad about where to take your new wife for her birthday. He laughed and named a lot of restaurants that he and my mother loved to go to eat.

I picked something not too romantic, but not too loud either. Bella had a great time, which I was thankful for. We weren't able to order any champagne to celebrate, but we sipped sparkling water and pretended. I gave her, her birthday present, a silver necklace with an infinity charm on it, to represent that my love for her was never-ending.

When we got back to the hotel I asked if she wanted to take a bath together again, but Bella declined and took my hand leading out into the sitting room.

"Now I can give you your surprise." She whispered into my ear. I felt my body shake as she pulled away and turned, pulling her hair over her shoulder. "Unzip me, please?" She asked.

I slowly pulled the zipper down on the black dress she had chosen for tonight, taking in the silky black material that she wore underneath. I let the dress fall from her shoulders and nearly gasped.

Bella had a little black shift on under her dress, complete with lacy, black underwear, and garters holding up her stockings.

She turned back around to me, still in her heels and fixed her hair. "You said to pack something sexy. Is this sexy enough for you?" She asked, feigning innocence.

I promptly began to remove my clothes until I was down to my underwear. Bella stood there moving from foot to foot as she watched me, playing with her hair and biting her lip. When I was stripped down to almost nothing I lunged at her, growling as I scooped her up and carried her over to the bed.

**A/N: Yes, I'm ending it there. Don't hate me. We all know what they're about to do. Have a great week everyone, and drop me a review! Oh, and I have a Polyvore update of Bella's "little outfit" for this chapter as well. Check that too by going to my profile and clicking the link for My Polyvore Profile. **


	4. A Waltz

**A/N: So I didn't get much of a response on the last chapter. I don't know if you're all pissed at me for lack of updates or no one felt like reviewing. But for the responses I did get , thank you very much!**

**I do not own Twilight.**

**BPOV**

"Bella, its just dance class." Edward called to me from the living room of my apartment. "You don't need to look perfect. We're just going to get sweaty anyway."

"I'm not appraising myself." I called back. I shifted the skirt and top I had chosen for today. I liked to wear something a little more loose and flowing for the dance class Edward and I had signed up for together. But as I moved my clothes this way and that, they just didn't seem to lay right. I gave up with a sigh and grabbed my bag with stuff for literature later and met Edward in the living room.

"You look beautiful no matter what you wear." He told me, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.

"Thank you,"

We walked over to the main campus together hand in hand. Edward chatted about his history of science class, complaining about his professor and how she expected to accomplish so much work before midterms in two weeks. He was clearly stressing. I knew the perfect remedy, but it would have to wait until tonight.

We arrived at the dance classroom and sat down along the mirrors with the other students who were already there as well. Edward kept hold of my hand and leaned over a few times to whisper in my ear. I wondered if he was doing it purposely, but I loved the affection regardless of the reason for it.

When our teacher arrived she had line up like always, and we stretched. We had been learning basic dance moves for the first month, but now we were beginning the waltz. I was looking forward to this one. Of all the dances we would learn this semester I had already told Edward I wanted to do the waltz as our final performance.

"Get with your partners and pick a place on the floor. Make sure you have three to four feet between each couple." Our teacher instructed, and then pair by pair she came around and positioned our arms properly. "Ok, now begin with your feet and remember the counting we practiced." She started the music, and I was pleased she had chosen one of my favorite classical pieces.

"One, two, three. One, two, three." Edward whispered to me with a smirk on his face.

"Shut up." I whispered back with a laugh. We had been practicing together in our apartments when we could. It had paid off. After a few minutes we were one of the few couples still moving fluidly to the music.

"Arms up," Our teacher called. Edward and raised opposite arms toward each other, my left and his right, and joined our hands together over our heads. After a minute we stopped and moved our hands back down, and then continued with the waltz.

I could feel myself smiling as we moved together. I really enjoyed this part of our week. It gave us a chance to be together in the middle of crazy days. As the music ended Edward decided to be a smartass and dip me even though the move wasn't part of the routine. I laughed out loud, attracting some attention. When he brought me up I got a little squeeze around my waist.

"All right. You can all sit and I will work with pairs individually."

"Good, I can get caught up on my book for classic lit." I sighed.

"And I can do my calculus."

"Geek,"

I watched a couple girls eye Edward up as we sat down. It made me proud that they wanted my man, but at the same time I had to keep reminding other girls not to tread on my territory. I leaned over placing my hand on his thigh and pressed a soft kiss to his lips and I swear I heard one girl sigh in disappointment.

After class ended Edward walked me over to my lit class before going back for calculus. We promised to meet up and grab dinner together. Today's literature class consisted of discussing the previous reading, and Dr. Beck handed out the assignment that would be our midterm grade. We had to come up with our creative interpretation of the novel we were reading and hand in a complete plot outline and character analysis. He ended class early and wished us all a good weekend. I wasn't supposed to meet Edward for another hour, so I headed to the library to get started on the midterm project.

"I thought I might find you in here." Edward said quietly as he appeared behind me.

I turned with a smile for him, and accepted the kiss he offered. "Trying to get a head start on my literature midterm."

"Now who's the geek?" He teased. "Come on, I'm starving." He helped me pack up and we walked back to his apartment. All of his roommates were going home this weekend, so we would have the entire apartment to ourselves starting tomorrow morning.

"What do you want for dinner?" Edward asked, tossing our bags in his room.

"Whatever,"

"I don't have that."

"God, you're obnoxious. Ok…pizza."

"Good choice." Edward pulled out his cell phone. "What kind. Don't say you don't care." He added with a short laugh.

"White pie with…broccoli. And extra garlic."

"Anything else?"

"Chicken bites."

Edward made the call while I put out two places for us at the coffee table. I gathered some of my work for another class and sat down to focus on it while we waited for dinner to arrive. Edward mumbled over his calculus until his cell phone went off with a call from the delivery guy.

I picked up while he went downstairs with the money. When he came back up with our food I was waiting on the couch for him with the movie I had picked out in the DVD player and waiting.

"Pizza and a movie, I'm jealous." Ben commented when he walked in a few minutes later. "Wow, got enough garlic on that."

I laughed as I bit into a slice. "Never. I feel bad for any vampire that wants to suck on my neck."

"I'll still suck on your neck." Edward said around a mouthful of chicken.

"Manners, please." I tapped his knee.

"So what are you guys watching?" Ben grabbed the armchair next to the couch and took out the cheeseburger he had picked up on campus for dinner.

"Epic. " Edward and I answered together.

"Oh good, I haven't seen this one yet. I'm sorry, I don't mean to jump in if you two are having a date or something."

I shook my head. "No, this is communal space. Besides we're going to have the whole apartment to ourselves this weekend." I leaned over into Edward and winked at him.

"Just don't leave any stains."

"Dude, as if." Edward objected.

After we finished the pizza Edward dug out the ice cream from the freezer and we cuddled on the couch to watch the rest of the movie and feed each other spoonfuls of cookie dough.

Ben let us after he finished his burger, which was good because Edward and I wound up lip-locked with a half hour left in the movie. When it ended we cleaned up and moved to his bedroom. I took the bed and he set up at his desk. The plan was to get as much homework done as possible tonight and tomorrow morning so we could relax the rest of the weekend.

"Did you write your short essay for history yet?" Edward asked as he flipped through his calculus textbook.

"The one we need to post online?"

"Yeah. I don't know what to say."

"All right. I haven't written it yet. But we can respond to individual posts. So why don't I post my answer to the question and you can respond to it?"

"Works for me, thanks, Bells."

Ben walked past around 11 to get some water from the kitchen and said goodnight as he walked back to his room. "I have to get up early to leave. No funny business." He joked with a laugh then shut his door.

Edward got up from his desk and knocked on the wall twice. "Hey, Ben. Let me know if the banging gets too loud."

I laughed quietly and waited for Ben's response. Edward's phone went off with a text a minute later. "Just remember…karma is a bitch."

"What's that mean?"

"Ben will us ten times as miserable when he brings a girl around. Which he's been threatening to do for weeks, but he has yet to ask her out." Edward put his phone down and joined me on the bed.

"Who is she?"

"No idea. Some girl in his biology class. He hasn't said anything to her yet. Waiting for the right moment, I guess." Edward leaned over and pressed his lips against mine. He took the book from my hand and let it drop to the floor before rolling himself on top of me and reaching for the lamp next to his bed.

I chuckled as he almost fell off the bed in his desperation. "Maybe we should find our balance first." I suggested.

"Probably." Edward ran a hand down the side of my face and cupped my jaw.

I watched him from the bed, stripping down to my underwear, as Edward got up and turned the lights off. He stripped everything off and climbed back into bed beside me. Edward was slow and tender, taking his time, pushing us both to a new height together. I curled up on my side when we finished, facing him. Edward put some pillows between him and the wall for support and then leaned up on one arm. He reached out and pushed some hair behind my ear.

"You were very gentle." I told him.

He reached out and stroked my side, running his fingers across the skin over my ribs, and then down to my hips.

"You're very intent." I observed as his hand passed over my protruding bones.

"Can we talk about something?"

"Sure,"

"I was being careful because you've gotten so thin. And I'm worried."

"I feel fine."

"But you don't look fine."

"I'm stressing. Mostly because I see you stressing and I don't like to see you upset."

"I wish you wouldn't worry, but I know that's pointless to request."

'It's not pointless. Honestly, most of the time I feel like I'm responding to you. I can't help it. I'm bonded to you."

We lay in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other and reflecting on the words we'd just exchanged. "Do I really look bad? Be honest."

"You don't look good. I'm afraid to hold you too tight sometimes. I'm afraid I'll break you."

"I'm not made of glass, Edward."

"But you're still precious to me."

"I think what this is boiling down to is that we need to communicate more about things that bother us, or even it's something small we're stressing over. We just need to talk about it."

"Agreed." Edward reached out a arm around me and pulled me into him. "So what do you want to do with the apartment to ourselves this weekend?"

I lifted my mouth so I could kiss my husband and then shut my eyes.

"Sleep, really?"

"I'm exhausted." I mumbled into his chest as I snuggled closer. "And if you don't badger me too much with that question there may be a surprise for you."

Edward reached behind him and fixed the blackout curtain over the window so that the lights outside were shut out. "Sleep," He told me, rolling onto his back so I could curl into his side. I did so, letting out a long breath.

"Best pillow ever." I sighed, feeling the weight of sleep taking over my mind. I felt Edward slip his hand into mine where it lay on his chest as my eyes finally closed.


	5. Stress Relief

**A/N: So I am now trying to get chapters out as I finish them for this story, since I don't know when inspiration will strike or how often. If I go a week or two without posting it's simply writer's block. Enjoy the chapter! (And the shower sex)**

**I do not own Twilight**

**EPOV**

I lay awake for some time after Bella had fallen asleep, holding her hand on my chest. I watched her face relax and felt her breathing even out. It was such a comfort to know she could find peace in her sleep.

But not every night.

And tonight became one of those nights.

I felt as though I had just fallen asleep when Bella began shaking next to me. I opened my eyes and fixed the blanket so it covered her past her shoulders, thinking she was merely cold. We tended to sleep with a window cracked no matter where we were just to allow for airflow.

But then she began moaning quietly in her sleep and started to grip the sheet so tight I thought her nails would tears little holes in it. I moved as much as I could so I was lying on my side facing her and stroked her cheek as I tried to gently wake her.

Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up slowly. "Oh my God," She groaned, drawing her knees up to her chest. She buried her face in them and started to quake with quiet sobs. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her until her tears subsided. There was not much else I could do until she calmed, and over the months I had learned that, even though I still felt helpless.

"Talk to me," I encouraged her gently, sweeping her hair behind her shoulder. I brushed away the moisture that lingered on her cheeks.

"I was walking down a hallway…I was alone but I still felt like someone was watching me. I kept seeing a shadow behind me out of the corner of my eye, but whenever I turned there was nothing there. And then suddenly I was…under water." Bella started to shake again. "I was terrified I would drown…that's when I woke up." She whispered at the end.

I could understand why the final segment of her dream would have frightened her so much. Last May she had tried to kill herself by drowning in her own bathtub after taking one of her father's sleeping pills. She had been frightened of being underwater ever since.

"The whole time it felt there was another presence with me…but I couldn't see anyone or hear anything. It was…horrifying in absence."

"Will you be all right?"

Bella nodded, looking away from me. Her shaking had stopped and her breathing was even. But somehow I felt like this would linger for longer than just tonight. I pulled Bella back down to the bed and curled her into me. She snuggled her head under my chin, reaching up to grasp the hair at the back of my neck.

"You're safe." I whispered to her, pressing my lips to her forehead.

"Always when I'm with you." She whispered back.

I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it. I held her tight all night long. Thankfully her nightmare left her be.

Due to the interruption in our sleep, I woke late the following morning. Ben was already gone, but he had texted me at 8 as he was leaving wishing us a good weekend, and repeated his threat should we leave stains around the apartment.

I left Bella to continue to sleep and went out into the kitchen to make coffee and get breakfast started. I wanted to surprise Bella with pancakes, one of her favorite comfort foods. I knew it would make her feel marginally better this morning when she woke up.

But I had barely begun to mix the batter and warm the electric griddle when Bella walked out of the bedroom tying her robe around her.

"I smelled the coffee." She murmured with a sleepy smile. "There's no trying to get that past me."

I shared a smile with her and turned back to my task. I felt Bella come up behind me and wrap her arms around my waist. She kissed my back through my t-shirt and then pressed her cheek to the same spot.

"Thank you for last night." She said quietly.

I put the batter down and turned to hold her in my arms. "I'll always be here for you. No matter what." We stood like that until Bella's need for caffeine forced her from my arms.

I started to pour the batter onto the griddle while she made two cups. "So, are you adding anything special to my pancakes?" She asked, sipping her coffee. I held up a bag of chocolate chips. "Good man."

"I like to think that after almost one year of being together I know you."

"Sometimes better than you think." Bella leaned up to kiss me chastely and left my coffee next to the griddle.

She set the table while I finished the pancakes and made some bacon for us to share. "So, can we talk a little bit more about you?" I asked as I served her a plate and placed one down for myself.

"What about me?"

"Well…your weight to be specific." I prompted. Bella picked at her food and let out a sigh.

"Ok."

I was glad she agreed. I was always unsure about anything regarding her health. She was very touchy discussing it and normally shut me down before I had a chance to reason with her.

"It's not like I don't eat." Bella tried to defend herself as she took a huge forkful of pancake.

"I know you eat. But you're still losing weight. I'm just worried is all."

"I'm not sick, Edward."

"I know you're not sick. And I know last night we mentioned stress briefly. I'm just wondering if anything else is going on in that beautiful head of yours."

"There's always something going on in my head, Edward. But in answer to your question…the majority of the time I think what it is I feel is subconscious. I'm not even aware that I'm stressing."

"Well, maybe we should do something about that."

"And what about you?" Bella countered. "Don't give me that 'I can look after myself' bullshit, Edward. We're partners, remember?"

"Of course, sweetheart. I would never presume to be hypocritical with you."

Bella bit into her bacon finally, finding it so satisfying that she finished all three strips before she took another bite of pancake. Clearly eating was not a problem. Which made me remember our first nights on campus. At first Bella was hesitant with food, not knowing how campus fare would agree with her. But after her first cheeseburger I think she fell in love. And the food really wasn't _that_ bad.

But we still bought groceries for those nights when we weren't in the mood to bring food back, or the rare afternoon class was canceled and we didn't feel like leaving the apartment to get some lunch.

Currently Bella was favoring anything made by Morningstar Farms. I don't know what she liked about the products, but it was good protein, and I wanted to see a little more meat on her bones anyway. Although…those soy corndogs were good. Hm, I think I know what we're making for lunch today.

"Maybe we can work on some stress relief techniques this weekend." Bella suggested. She ate the last bite of her pancake and finished her coffee. "That was so good, Edward."

"I'm glad you liked it. What kind of stress relief techniques are we talking about here?" I had an idea what she was getting it, and I was all for it…well, them.

"Why don't you clean up and meet me in the bathroom in five minutes, and we can get started?"

"I like your way of thinking, Mrs. Cullen."

I cleaned up in the kitchen and left everything on the rack to dry then went down the hallway to the communal bathroom. Bella was already in the shower, running the water hot to make it steam.

I made sure the door was locked before I stripped out of my clothes and joined her behind the curtain. "Great idea." I told her as I stepped under the spray with her. This was actually the first time we were attempting a shower together since the campus showers in the apartments were built for one at a time.

"I just hope we have enough room." Bella turned to loop her arms around my neck and soon my back was against the wall as we made out passionately.

The last time we had showered together was before we had moved to campus. Sex had been confined to a bed for weeks, and it felt good to be doing something different.

I was surprised with Bella's ferocity and it reminded me of the night of her birthday. She had had some pent up energy then, too. I held her tight as we explored each other with lips and hands for several minutes before I turned us so Bella was against the wall now. There really wasn't that much room to be doing this in the shower, but we would make it work.

I was glad Garrett had thought to put one of those no-slip mats on the bottom of the shower. Apparently his first year living in these apartments he had slipped in the shower and knocked his head on the wall. He went out and bought a mat the next day. Now he put in the shower every shower.

"Never again," He swore as I watched him unpack the mat and secure it to the bottom of the shower. "And God forbid if you actually fall out of the shower and take the curtain down with you."

I had a feeling that had happened to him once, too. Possibly with Kate in the shower with him. I had just laughed at him.

But right now I was thankful for his careful thinking. I picked Bella up so she could wrap her legs around my waist, and I planted her firmly against the wall for support. She reached down between us to line our bodies and I pushed forward into her without a moment's hesitation.

She felt so good this way, wrapped entirely around me as I moved inside her. We needed more spontaneous days like this. I thought back to the night before and how I had been slow and gentle, building the release between us until it exploded. I could feel my body stirring with the memory of it, and Bella shook gently against me. She was remembering, too.

With the combination of the water, the heat, and the fact that we were doing it in a shower that I shared with three roommates…I wasn't going to last long. As soon as I felt it start at the base of my spine I moved a little faster, a little harder. Bella came before me, squeezing me tight. She tugged at my hair and gripped my shoulders with her nails.

The combined sensation nearly sent me over the edge, but I managed to pull out and set Bella on her feet. She finished me off with her hand and I leaned against the wall, panting, as the evidence of our coupling washed down the drain.

"We really need to do that more often." I told her.

"We definitely do." Bella agreed. She picked up the washcloth from the little built-in shelf and started to wash me. I returned the gesture and then washed her hair, making sure to thoroughly massage her scalp since I knew she enjoyed that so much.

We dried off and got dressed and then got right back to work from where we had left the night before. Thankfully, we were done with homework by lunchtime, and as I had planned I made us corndogs. We settled into the couch to watch another movie and relax for the rest of the day.

I had just gotten up to shut the curtain over the large window looking into the living room, and had Bella on her back on the couch when we heard someone's ID card in the door. It opened a moment later and Ben walked looking frustrated.

We had broken apart and sat up by the time he walked by so he didn't see anything.

"You ok?" I called out to him. Ben opened his bedroom door and dumped a couple bags on the floor before coming back out to the living room. He opened the fridge and grabbed a can of soda, popping it open as he sat down. Bella shut the TV off so he could talk.

"My brother is just being an ass. I left so I wouldn't have to listen to him fighting with my parents. He's about this close to getting kicked out of the house." Ben held up his thumb and index finger nearly pinched together. He took a long drink from his Mountain Dew and continued ranting.

His older brother had been in all kinds of trouble since he was sixteen, and showed no signs of growing up any time soon. He had just turned twenty-three and had been in jail once and had a DUI on his record.

His parents were threatening to throw him out of the house if he didn't stop. They weren't going to help him pay his fines and tickets anymore, and threatened to not bail him out the next time he was arrested. Ben had walked out just as his brother, Michael, started shouting about how everything he did around the house wasn't appreciated and maybe he should just leave and never come back.

"It was so petty. He acts like such a child and thinks there's nothing wrong with the shit that he does. He just doesn't see how much he's ruining his life. And it's really frustrating, because he's a smart guy. He was studying computer science before he dropped out of college because he couldn't afford it after all of the court costs the past few years."

"Do your parents know you left?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, my dad was the one to tell me to go. I don't live too far away, just forty minutes or so. But he had a feeling this time they were going to have to call the cops for domestic disturbance and they wanted me out of the house so I wouldn't have to see it. Honestly, I don't care if I see it. Sometimes I think jail would be the best place for him after everything."

"Maybe," I said quietly.

"Thanks for listening to me. I needed to vent about it."

"No problem. Bella and I have actually been talking about different ways to relieve stress. We both have some pent frustrations."

"Ok, I'm leaving. You two have fun." Ben teased as he got up. But he sat back down. Even though we were all laughing at the joke, Bella blushed furiously.

"How about we go out for dinner tonight, maybe a game or two of bowling?" She suggested.

"Yeah, that actually sounds like a lot of fun." Ben agreed.

"This is why I love my girl." I gave Bella a hug and a kiss in appreciation.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Ben did all of his laundry and was in and out the apartment every half hour to move loads around. Bella went through her scrapbook that she had been keeping since the beginning of the summer and added some new pictures of college happenings. I got ahead on some of readings for my History of Science class.

We arrived at the local bowling lanes around seven and got shoes and bought three games. We wanted a long night of fun. I ordered two pizzas, two pitchers of soda and a side of fries for all of us to share. Ben and I could go through a pizza and a pitcher alone and still be hungry.

Bella started off a little weak, having trouble finding a ball she could actually lift and throw without flying down the lane with it. But halfway through the first game she got into her rhythm and scored three strikes in a row.

By the end of the night we had each won one game and were exhausted. I was never happier to curl up in bed with my wife and fall asleep next to her.

**A/N: A little sappy at the end, but I was reminiscing from my on-campus days. I miss living away at college. It was the best four years of my life. **


End file.
